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Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a huge park surrounding Lake Powell. It covers 1,254,429 acres of mostly desert, with roughly ⅔ in Utah and ⅓ in Arizona.
Introduction to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompasses Glen Canyon. There are countless recreational opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, biking, and scenic drives. Although the majority of the park is in Utah, the most famous sites are in Arizona.
Glen Canyon was carved by a 169.6-mile (272.9 kilometer) stretch of the Colorado River. It was said to be more spectacular than the Grand Canyon, but it was so remote it was rarely visited. The canyon was flooded by the Glen Canyon Dam and is now filled with Lake Powell. It’s one of the largest artificial reservoirs in the United States and can hold 9,000,000,000,000 gallons of water. There are also roughly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of coastline. The lake is named for John Wesley Powell (1834-1902).
The first non-Natives to lay eyes on the canyon were Franciscan priests Atanasio Domínguez (c. 1740-1803/05) and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante (c. 1750-1780), who were leading the Domínguez–Escalante expedition in 1776. In 1869 and 1871, John Wesley Powell traveled through Glen Canyon en route to the Grand Canyon. Hundreds of miners panned for flour gold in the canyon in the 1890s.
The idea for creating a national recreation area was first proposed by Utah Senator Arthur V. Watkins (1886-1973) in February 1957. The National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation agreed on administration in June 1958, and a budget for infrastructure works was announced in March 1959.
Lake Powell began filling on March 13, 1963, and Utah Senator Frank Moss (1911-2003) introduced a bill to create Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in August of that year. The park was officially established on October 27, 1972. Lake Powell reached its capacity on June 22, 1980.
Planning Your Trip to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
I only spent a day at Glen Canyon and barely made a dent. Most of my time was spent in the small section of the park in Arizona, on a day trip from Kanab, Utah. I visited Horseshoe Bend, took a cruise down Antelope Canyon, and toured the Glen Canyon Dam. Check the official website for more info.
Before getting into some of the trails and highlights of the park, here’s some essential information to help you plan your trip:
Entrance Fees to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
The entrance fee to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area varies depending on your mode of transportation. Prices are current as of September 2025:
- For private vehicles or boats, it’s US$30.
- For motorcycles, it’s US$25.
- For visitors entering on bicycle or on foot, it’s US$15 for adults and free for kids under 16.
- Holders of any interagency pass are covered for one vehicle or four per person fees.
Entrance fees are good for seven days.
Visitor Centers at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
There are three visitor centers at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area:
- The main visitor center is the Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam, just north of Page, Arizona. It’s open year-round and offers tours of Glen Canyon Dam.
- The Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center is at historic Navajo Bridge south of Page. It’s open April through November.
- The Bullfrog Visitor Center, which is open in summer only, is at Bullfrog Marina in Utah.
Marinas at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
The most popular activity on Lake Powell is boating. There are four marinas available within the park and numerous boat launches.
- Bullfrog Marina offers the most services out of the three marinas in Utah. There’s a convenience store, restaurant, fish cleaning area, laundry facilities, gas station, boat repair, and a car ferry service to Halls Crossing Marina, among other services.
- Halls Crossing Marina, in Utah, has a convenience store, laundry facilities, boat repair, and more.
- Wahweap Marina, in Arizona, has the most services out of any marina at the park. It features lodging, several restaurants, shopping, churches, a museum, a hospital, boat rentals, tours, and much more.
- Antelope Point Marina is in Arizona. There’s a restaurant, store, and the possibility to take touristic cruises or fishing tours on Lake Powell. You can also rent or charter a boat.
- Dangling Rope Marina, in Utah, was the fifth marina and only accessible by water. It was open from 1984 to 2021. The National Park Service made the decision to permanently close the marina in September 2024 due to dangerously low water levels. Authorities are working on ways to repurpose the facilities (as of September 2025).
Lodges at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
There are two lodges within the park at Lake Powell Resort at Wahweap Marina and Defiance House Lodge at Bullfrog Marina. Restaurants and activities are available at both lodges.
Camping at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Several campgrounds are located throughout the park:
- Developed campgrounds run by park concessioners are at Wahweap Marina RV Park and Campground, Bullfrog Marina RV Park and Campground, and Halls Crossing Marina RV Park and Campground. Fees vary.
- The National Park Service runs a developed campground at Lees Ferry. It has 54 sites on a first-come, first-served basis at US$26 a night (as of September 2025).
- Primitive campsites are located throughout the park and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Lone Rock Beach and Beehives Campgrounds costs US$14 a night while Stanton Creek, Dirty Devil, and Farley Canyon are US$12 (as of September 2025).
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is the reason Glen Canyon National Recreation Area exists. This dam on the Colorado River, located in Arizona, was built between 1956 and 1966. It’s 1,560 feet (480 meters) long at the top and 710 feet (220 meters) high. The width at the top is 25 feet (7.6 meters) while the maximum width at the bottom is 300 feet (91 meters). You can see the dam up close and personal at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center north of Page, Arizona.
History of the Glen Canyon Dam
The idea for the dam was first studied in 1924 but the plans were scrapped in favor of the Hoover Dam. However, rapid population growth around the Colorado River Basin justified the need for new reservoirs.
Work began in 1956 on two diversion tunnels that would carry water from the Colorado River around the dam site. Each tunnel was 41 feet (12 meters) in diameter. The tunnel on the right side was 2,740 feet (840 meters) long and used for the normal flow of the river. The tunnel on the left was 2,900 feet (880 meters) long and only used during periods of flooding.
On June 16, 1960, workers began pouring concrete into the over 3,000 wooden blocks that would eventually make up the main structure of the dam. A concrete plant was installed, capable of carrying 12-cubic-yard (9.2 cubic meter) buckets to each block. By late 1962, 8,000 cubic yards (6,100 cubic meters) of concrete was being poured per day.
On January 21, 1963, the diversion tunnel was closed and Lake Powell began filling up. The dam was topped out on September 13, 1963, and the first electricity was generated on September 4, 1964. The entire project was completed two years later, and the Glen Canyon Dam was officially dedicated on September 22, 1966, by Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007).
Tours of Glen Canyon Dam
Tours of Glen Canyon Dam are on a first-come, first-served basis. They last about 45 minutes. (Note: the dam has been closed to the public since March 2020 and will remain closed until further notice (as of April 2025).)
Tours begin on top of the dam, where some old equipment and machinery is on display. The guide does a wonderful job of explaining how everything was used.
Next, we looked down to see the power plant and grass field at the bottom of the dam, views of Lake Powell, and the bridge. The field is a unique feature of the dam. It was planted to prevent vibration as water is fed to the power plant. An added benefit is that it also reduces temperatures within the power plant.
From there, we rode the elevator down to the power plant. At the bottom, we exited and saw the grass field as well as the entire face of the dam. It was an incredible sight to look up and see so much concrete as well as the underside of the bridge.
The tour continued in the turbine hall where the guide explained how hydroelectric power is generated. The dam provides power to about five million people in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
At the end of the tour, we rode up the elevator and walked back to the visitor center. It was well worth the time and the guide was informative and entertaining.
Glen Canyon Dam Bridge
The Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, which carries US 89, passes in front of the dam. The 2-lane bridge is 1,271 feet (387 meters) long and is 700 feet (210 meters) above the Colorado River. Construction began in 1957. At the time of completion two years later, it was the highest arch bridge in the world.
Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend is an incredible natural feature on the Colorado River and one of the most popular sites at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It’s located in Arizona, about five miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam.
The parking lot falls just outside the park boundary and is run by the city of Page. The parking fee is US$10 per passenger vehicle and US$35 for commercial vans up to 14 passengers (as of August 2025). Please note interagency passes are not accepted. There are vault toilets available.
The viewpoint is accessible via a 1 ½-mile (2.4 kilometer) round-trip hike from the parking lot. Once you arrive, the scene is breathtaking.
The viewpoint is at the edge of a 1,000-foot cliff. When I visited, there were no fences or barriers to prevent anyone from falling, but they were installed at the main platform in 2018. Walk 50 feet in either direction, however, and you’ll have to be very careful with every step. I got very nervous every time someone approached the edge, especially when they were trying to take selfies. Some were even crawling on their bellies to get closer.
Antelope Canyon Cruise
A cruise to Antelope Canyon is a nice way to enjoy Lake Powell. They depart from both Antelope Point Marina and Wahweap Marina. We booked our cruise from Antelope Point online and checked in 30 minutes before the tour. It costs US$50 for adults, US$30 for kids age 4-12, and free for kids under 4 (as of September 2025). Tours last an hour and include a bottle of water.
After boarding the boat, we started cruising on Lake Powell, passing sunbathers on the shore and stand-up paddlers near the mouth of the canyon.
As we approached Antelope Canyon, we could see the canyon walls getting narrower and narrower.
The colors on the walls of the canyon started to change, and there were some beautiful reflections on the water. The guide pointed out how high the water level once was by showing us the difference in the colors of the canyon walls.
When we reached the end of the water, the guide mentioned that some boats used to be able to go a bit further into the canyon where it’s much narrower, but the low water level today prevent’s that.
Overall, the cruise was a nice way to enjoy Lake Powell and get out onto the water, although we would have preferred to visit the more spectacular parts of Antelope Canyon on land.
Wahweap Overlook
Wahweap Overlook offers 360° views of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It’s popular at sunrise and sunset and a great place for a picnic. You can see Wahweap Marina in the distance.
Hite Overlook
Hite Overlook is about 10 miles north of Hite Marina in Utah. With the water level low, you can get amazing views of of the Colorado River and what Glen Canyon looked like before it was filled. In the distance, you can also spot Hite Crossing Bridge, which carries Utah State Route 95 over the river. It opened on June 3, 1966.
Other Sections of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
There are several more remote areas of the park that I didn’t visit. Backcountry permits may be necessary for overnight stays in some of these areas:
- Orange Cliffs is in the northern section just west of Canyonlands National Park in Utah
- Escalante canyon country and Coyote Gulch is in Utah
- The area along the San Juan River including Muley Point, is northwest of Goosenecks State Park and Mexican Hat, Utah
- Hite is at the northern end of Lake Powell in Utah
- Historic Lees Ferry is north of Navajo Bridge in Arizona.
